Patras is the principal city of the Peloponnese and the main gateway to the Ionian islands, making it an efficient charter base for motor yachts covering the northern Ionian circuit. The city marina provides good facilities and easy onward connections, and the Rio-Antirrio bridge marks the departure point for passages into the Gulf of Corinth or out into the open Ionian. The 45 motor yachts available from this base span the full range of sizes and specifications, from 18-metre cruisers to 60-metre superyachts.
Weekly rates for motor yachts chartered from Patras range from approximately 25,000 to 400,000 euros. The advance provisioning allowance of around 30 percent covers fuel, food, marina fees, and drinks for the week. July and August are peak season, with Kefalonia and Lefkada particularly in demand. June and September offer comparable sea conditions and noticeably lower costs at most Ionian ports.
Motor yachts are well suited to the northern Ionian, where the passages between islands are short enough to allow a different anchorage each night and the prevailing northwesterly wind is manageable on a large, stable hull. The sheltered water inside the Lefkada lagoon and the calm bays on the east coast of Kefalonia are particularly suited to motor yachts with a shallow draft.
From Patras, the most popular motor yacht route runs northwest to Kefalonia for the beaches at Myrtos and the Melissani cave, then north to the Lefkada lagoon at Nidri, across to the Paleros coast, and up to Paxos for the harbour at Lakka before returning via the Corfu Channel and Preveza to Patras, completing a full Ionian circuit in seven days.
